Match Two

Chapter 46 - Match Two

The arena lights burned bright over the ring.

It was the day of Mike’s second bout in the Amateur Boxing Championship, and the arena felt even louder than it had during his first match. The stands were packed, a restless sea of faces leaning toward the ring as the crowd reacted to every feint, punch, and movement near the canvas.

Under the harsh lights, Mike stood in the blue corner, shoulders loose and gloves resting against the ropes. Across from him, his opponent waited in the red corner, a stocky fighter with a hard stare. Their eyes met for a moment, and the other boxer held the look, silently trying to make Mike flinch. Mike gave him nothing. He had faced enough nerves to know that intimidation worked only when you let it.

Instead, Mike kept glancing toward the entrance tunnel. The referee was already checking the fighters’ gloves, and the announcer’s voice rolled through the speakers, but Mike barely heard any of it. He searched the moving crowd beyond the ropes, looking past strangers, coaches, and officials for one familiar face. His opponent noticed and smirked, perhaps mistaking his distraction for fear. Mike ignored him. The bell could ring at any moment, but there was still one person he needed to see walk through that tunnel before he could step into the fight with a clear mind.

Coach Durren stood beside him as his second for the night, tightening the tape around Mike’s gloves and checking the laces on his shoes. Mia was supposed to be in the corner. Instead, she had called Durren the evening before and backed out without giving much of an explanation. Mike had seen her twice at the gym since the beach.

Both times, something had felt off. Her answers were short, her smiles forced, and whenever he moved closer, she seemed to find a reason to look somewhere else. Once, he had even watched her take a small step back, almost without realizing she had done it.

When Durren told him that morning he would be taking Mia’s place, Mike had tried not to show his disappointment.

He understood that Mia had her reasons, whatever they were, but that didn't stop the uneasy feeling in his chest. All day, he had told himself she might still come. Maybe she would slip through the entrance at the last moment, catch his eye from the crowd, and give him that familiar smile.

Now the arena was filling up, the referee was preparing the ring, and Mike kept searching the tunnel. He had no idea what had changed between them, but he still hoped she would walk through that door.

The bell rang, and Mike stepped forward. His jab shot out almost on instinct, followed by another as his feet slid across the canvas. His body knew what to do, even if his mind was somewhere else. Every few seconds, his eyes flicked toward the entrance tunnel. Still empty. The crowd roared around him, but the noise felt distant, muffled beneath the steady rhythm of his breathing and the thud of gloves against his guard.

His opponent pressed forward, throwing heavier combinations and spitting insults between punches. Mike heard every word, but none of them landed. He kept his guard tight, slipped what he could, and answered with clean shots of his own. Neither man gained enough ground to take control, and by the time the bell rang, the round was nearly even. Mike turned and walked back to his corner, breathing hard, without giving the other fighter so much as a glance. His eyes went straight to the entrance.

Durren wiped his face with a towel and spoke low while the minute ticked down. “Don’t worry about Mia. She’s fine. You do better out there and there’s a prize waiting for you tonight. I didn’t want to tell you yet, but if you win, the night is yours.”

Mike’s eyes sharpened. The words landed and lit something inside him. He thought Durren had arranged a datewith Mia after the fight. The possibility settled in his chest and pushed the distraction aside.

The second round began.

Mike came out focused and eager to end it fast. He snapped out a clean series of jabs and crosses that forced the opponent backward. Step by step he drove the man into the corner. Iron Body activated under his skin. The familiar hardening settled through his torso and arms. His stamina already sat higher than before thanks to the system, and now he used every bit of it.

The opponent’s punches landed on him and bounced off with little effect. Mike kept the pressure tight. There was no space left for escape.

His punches grew faster. There was no sign of slowing. Left, right, hook, straight—each one followed the last without pause. The opponent’s guard started to crumble under the volume. When the hands finally dropped, the referee stepped in hard, broke them apart, and pushed Mike back toward the center of the ring.

Mike froze for a split second in shock, then anger rose.

The round was not over. He had been about to finish it. He took one step forward again. The referee sensed the movement and gestured sharply toward the canvas. Mike looked down. A white towel lay in the middle of the ring.

He understood at once.

The fight was over by TKO. The referee raised his hand and announced the winner. The crowd noise washed over him as he climbed out of the ropes and headed for the changing room. Durren followed close behind.

Inside the room Mike turned to him, still riding the win and the earlier promise. “So what’s the gift?”

Durren only smirked and kept the teasing quiet. He held out a set of clean clothes. “Put these on first.”

Mike changed.

The shirt and pants fit his size perfectly and looked good under the locker-room lights.

When he stepped back out, Durren was already waiting in the parking lot beside a dark SUV.

The coach had changed as well into something sharper than his usual gym gear. Mike felt the first small doubt. This no longer felt like a simple meeting with Mia.

Durren started the engine and pulled the vehicle onto the road. The city lights slid past the windows as they drove.

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